Apple Cheddar Gallette

What is that saying?  As American as Mom, baseball and Apple Pie?  This weekend brings all three. This morning we went to Andrew's baseball game.  Andrew hit a solid double with an RBI so even though they lost, it was a good game.  The Mom part comes with Mother's Day tomorrow and Apple Gallette plays the part of the pie.  A gallette is the rustic cousin of pie and you can fill it with the same fruits you would use for a pie.  The spin on this gallette is the addition of shredded sharp cheddar on the bottom of the crust.  It adds a nice tang against the sweet apples.  I need to share a little secret about the gallette above. We just tried a piece and I couldn't figure out what a certain flavor was after a couple of bites.  When I mentioned it to Mark, he said it must be the smoked cheddar.  What smoked cheddar?  I put sharp cheddar on the list but Mark swears the entire grocery store was out of ALL sharp cheddar so he bought smoked cheddar.  Arrrrgggh.  Smoky apple gallette anyone? 

The Ingredients:

1 pie crust (I used packaged but if you are a baker or aghast make from scratch)

3-4 tbsp SHARP cheddar, grated

4-5 apples, peeled and sliced

2 tbsp flour

1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp brown sugar

pinch of salt

1 egg, beaten

2 tbsp white sugar, for sprinkling on the crust

The Method:

Preheat oven to 375.  Line a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper for easy clean up.  In a medium bowl, add the apples, squeeze the lemon over and mix.  Add the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and brown sugar, stir to combine.  Place the pie crust on the sheet pan and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese, leaving about an inch border.  Pile the apples on top of the cheddar.  Pull pie crust up working in 2 inch pieces.  Overlap the dough as you work your way around the crust.  Brush crust with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding (Squeak)

On Sunday, Mark and I had brunch for Benj, Illiana, her Mother and Grandmother.  We had a Frittata with pancetta, asparagus and caramelized onion, maple syrup bacon, orange-jicama salad along with some chocolate croissants we bought at Whole Foods.  I decided to use up the 6 leftover croissants to make this Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding!  I'm not a big dessert fan but Mark gobbled this piece up right after the picture was taken.  I also brought in a piece to work for my BFF, Cindy, because bread pudding is her favorite dessert.

Ingredients:
6 chocolate croissants (or plain croissants)
1/3 c chocolate chips
2 eggs
1/3 c sugar
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 c heavy cream
pinch of salt
Very hot water for water bath

The method:
Pre Heat oven to 375
Cut croissants into 1 inch pieces, place in small casserole dish, sprinkle chocolate chips over croissants.  Melt butter in medium bowl in microwave.  Add sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  Whisk to combine.  Add eggs and whisk to combine with sugar, egg mixture.  Whisk in heavy cream.  Pour mixture over croissants and press down to make sure croissants soak up cream mixture.  Heat enough water to a fast simmer to cover casserole dish about 1 inch for a water bath.  Place a baking pan large enough for the casserole dish to fit into, in the oven, place casserole dish into the center of the baking pan and add hot water carefully to cover 1" of casserole dish.  Carefully, push oven shelf back in.  Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes, until bread pudding is golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.